[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2021.08.21"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2021.08.21"] [EventCountry "USA"] {[%evp 0,17,18,20,41,46,88,70,67,39,24,26,59,29,27,12,10,8,26,-13]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3 e5 (6... g6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Qd2 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Nxc6 Rxc6 12. Bh6 Bxh6 13. Qxh6 Rxc3 14. bxc3 Qa5 15. Kd2 Bc6 16. h4 Qxa2 17. Rb1 Qa3 18. Qe3 Qa5 19. g4 Nd7 20. Ra1 Qc5 21. f4 e5 22. Qxc5 dxc5 23. Rhf1 Ke7 24. Ra5 h6 25. fxe5 Nxe5 26. Rxc5 Nxg4 27. e5 Rd8 28. Rf4 h5 29. Rd4 Re8 30. Bxa6 Kf8 31. Bb5 Nxe5 32. Bxc6 bxc6 33. Re4 f6 34. Ke3 Kf7 35. Kf4 Ra8 36. Rexe5 fxe5+ 37. Kxe5 Re8+ 38. Kf4 Re6 39. c4 Rf6+ 40. Ke4 Kg7 41. Re5 Rf1 42. Kd4 Rf4+ 43. Re4 Rxe4+ 44. Kxe4 Kf6 45. Kf4 c5 46. c3 g5+ 47. hxg5+ Kg6 {0-1 (47) Xiong,J (2709)-Carlsen,M (2863) Lichess.org INT 2020}) (6... Nbd7 7. O-O g6 8. f4 Bg7 9. Nf3 O-O 10. Kh1 Nc5 11. Be3 Nxd3 12. cxd3 b5 13. Qd2 Bg4 14. Nd4 Qd7 15. f5 e5 16. Nc2 d5 17. Bg5 d4 18. Ne2 h6 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. Ng3 Bg5 21. Qe1 Bh4 22. h3 Rac8 23. Nb4 gxf5 24. exf5 a5 25. hxg4 axb4 26. Ne4 Bxe1 27. Nf6+ Kg7 28. Nxd7 Rfd8 29. f6+ Kh7 30. Raxe1 Rxd7 31. Rxe5 Rc2 32. Re7 Rdc7 33. Rf4 Kg6 34. Rxc7 Rxc7 35. Rxd4 b3 36. axb3 Rc2 37. Rb4 Rxb2 38. Kh2 Rd2 39. d4 Rd3 40. Kg1 Rd2 41. Kh2 Rd3 42. Rxb5 Rxd4 43. Kh3 Kxf6 44. b4 Kg6 45. Rb8 Rd3+ 46. Kh2 Rb3 47. b5 Kg5 48. b6 Kxg4 49. b7 Kf5 { 1/2-1/2 (49) Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) Chess.com INT 2020}) 7. Nde2 Be6 (7... Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Ng3 Be6 10. Nd5 Bxd5 11. exd5 g6 12. c4 Nbd7 13. a3 Nc5 14. Bc2 b5 15. b4 Nb7 16. cxb5 axb5 17. Bh6 Re8 18. Bd3 Nxd5 19. Qf3 Nc3 20. Qxb7 d5 21. Bd2 Rb8 22. Qa7 Ne4 23. Bxe4 dxe4 24. Rfd1 f5 25. Bc3 Bd6 26. Qe3 Qf6 27. Bb2 Bc7 28. Qb3+ Kh8 29. Rd7 Bb6 30. Rad1 Re6 31. Bc1 Rbe8 32. Be3 Bxe3 33. fxe3 h5 34. Rc7 h4 35. Ne2 f4 36. exf4 exf4 37. Nxf4 Rf8 38. Qxe6 Qxf4 39. Qb6 h3 40. Qd4+ Rf6 41. Rc6 {1-0 (41) Nakamura,H (2736) -Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) chess24.com INT 2020}) (7... Nc6 8. Nd5 Nxd5 9. exd5 Nb4 10. Be4 a5 11. c3 Na6 12. Bc2 (12. O-O f5 13. Bc2 Be7 14. f4 O-O 15. Be3 e4 16. Nd4 Nc7 17. Bb3 Bf6 18. a4 Kh8 19. Bc4 Qe7 20. Qb3 Na6 21. Ne6 Bxe6 22. dxe6 Nc5 23. Bxc5 dxc5 24. Rad1 Rad8 25. Qb5 g5 26. Rd7 Rxd7 27. Qxd7 gxf4 28. Rxf4 Bg5 29. Qxe7 Bxe7 30. g4 fxg4 31. Rxg4 Rg8 32. Rxg8+ Kxg8 33. Kf2 Kf8 34. Ke3 Bg5+ 35. Kxe4 Bc1 36. Kd5 Ke7 37. b3 Bd2 38. Bd3 h6 39. c4 Be3 40. Be2 Bd4 41. h4 Bf2 42. h5 Bd4 43. Bf3 Bf2 44. Ke5 Bd4+ 45. Kf5 b6 46. Bg4 Bc3 47. Bh3 Bd4 48. Kf4 Kd6 49. Ke4 Bc3 50. Kf5 Ke7 51. Bg2 Bb2 52. Bc6 Bc3 53. Bd7 Bb2 54. Ke4 Kd6 55. Kf4 Bc3 56. Kf5 Ke7 57. Bc8 Bb2 58. Kg6 Bc1 59. Kf5 Bb2 60. Kg6 Bc1 61. Kf5 Bb2 {1/2-1/2 (61) Vachier Lagrave,M (2784)-Ding,L (2791) chess24.com INT 2020}) 12... g6 13. h4 h5 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Qd2 Nc5 16. c4 Bd7 17. Nc3 Bxg5 18. hxg5 Qb6 19. O-O-O Qb4 20. Rh4 a4 21. Re1 O-O 22. a3 Nb3+ 23. Bxb3 Qxb3 24. Qc2 Qxc2+ 25. Kxc2 Rfc8 26. Kd2 Kg7 27. Rc1 Bf5 28. f3 f6 29. gxf6+ Kxf6 30. g4 hxg4 31. fxg4 Kg5 32. Rh2 Bxg4 33. Ne4+ Kf4 34. Kd3 Rh8 35. Rf2+ Bf3 36. Rg1 Rh2 37. Rxh2 Bxe4+ 38. Kd2 Bf5 39. Rf1+ Kg5 40. Rh7 b5 41. c5 dxc5 42. Rc7 c4 43. Rb7 Rh8 44. Rxb5 Rh3 45. Rb4 Rd3+ 46. Kc1 c3 47. Rxa4 cxb2+ 48. Kxb2 Rd2+ 49. Kc1 Rxd5 50. Rg1+ Kh6 51. Rc4 Rd3 52. a4 e4 53. Kb2 e3 54. Re1 Kg5 55. a5 Rd2+ 56. Kc3 Ra2 57. Kb4 e2 58. Rc3 Kf4 59. a6 Be4 60. a7 Bf3 61. Rc7 g5 62. Kb5 Kg3 63. Re7 Kf2 64. Rb1 g4 65. Kb6 g3 66. Re8 g2 67. Rf8 Ra3 68. Rc1 e1=Q 69. Rxf3+ Rxf3 {0-1 (69) Vachier Lagrave,M (2784)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) chess24.com INT 2020}) 8. O-O Nc6 9. f4 (9. Ng3 g6 (9... d5 10. Bg5 dxe4 11. Ncxe4 Be7 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Qh5 Qc7 14. Qh6 O-O-O 15. Nxf6 Nd4 16. Rad1 Bxa2 17. Nf5 Be6 18. Nxe7+ Qxe7 19. Rfe1 Nc6 20. Bxh7 Qb4 21. b3 Kb8 22. Qg5 Rd4 23. Be4 Rhd8 24. Rc1 Qc3 25. h4 Ka8 26. h5 Rd2 27. Bd3 {1-0 (27) Nakamura,H (2736) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2784) chess24.com INT 2020}) 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Bh6 Ng4 12. Bd2 h5 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. exd5 Nb8 15. h3 Nf6 16. c4 Nbd7 17. b4 O-O 18. Rc1 a5 19. a3 b6 20. Bc2 h4 21. Ne2 axb4 22. axb4 b5 23. cxb5 Qb8 24. Bd3 Nb6 25. Qb3 Nbxd5 26. Bh6 Rc8 27. Bc4 Rxc4 28. Qxc4 Ra4 29. Bd2 Kg7 30. Ra1 Rxa1 31. Rxa1 Nc7 32. Qxh4 Qxb5 33. Bh6+ Kg8 34. Bg5 Kg7 35. Rc1 Qb7 36. Ng3 Ncd5 37. b5 Ng8 38. Bxe7 Ngxe7 39. Ne4 Nf4 40. Qf6+ Kg8 41. Re1 Nf5 42. Qd8+ Kg7 43. b6 Ne6 44. Qf6+ Kg8 45. Rc1 d5 46. Rc7 Nxc7 47. Qd8+ Kg7 48. bxc7 {1-0 (48) Nakamura,H (2736)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2784) chess24.com INT 2020}) 9... exf4 10. Nxf4 Ne5 11. a4 $146 (11. Kh1 Be7 12. Be3 O-O 13. a4 Qc7 14. Bd4 Rae8 15. Qe1 Qc8 16. Qg3 Nc6 17. Bg1 Ne5 18. Bd4 Nc6 19. Bg1 Ne5 20. Nce2 Bg4 21. Bd4 Nh5 22. Nxh5 Bxh5 23. Nf4 Bg6 24. Nd5 Bd8 25. Bc3 Qd7 26. a5 Nxd3 27. cxd3 f5 28. Nf4 fxe4 29. Nxg6 hxg6 30. Rxf8+ Rxf8 31. dxe4 Qe6 32. Qd3 {1/2-1/2 (32) Heberla,B (2566)-Gajewski,G (2616) Warsaw 2020}) 11... g6 12. Be2 Bg7 13. Be3 O-O 14. a5 Rc8 15. Ra4 Re8 16. h3 (16. Kh1 {was another way of handling the persistent possibility of a Black knight coming to g4, allowing the bishop to tuck in on g1.}) 16... Qe7 17. Bd4 h5 {The move was a surprise to the commentators, but Svidler insisted in the postgame interview that it wasn't anything particularly out of the ordinary.} 18. Qe1 Bd7 {A logical move, looking to reroute the bishop to c6. The drawback is obvious, allowing a knight to come to d5 (and survive), but it won't remain there forever.} 19. Nfd5 Nxd5 20. Nxd5 Qe6 {This allows White a repetition, and from White's perspective it is forced: if he doesn't go for it he is worse. Shankland also thought that this was forced, but Svidler was correct that 20...Qf8 wasn't any worse than the text. It wasn't any better either, so the draw was not an outrageous result.} (20... Qf8 21. Rb4 Bc6 (21... Rxc2 22. Qd1 {Svidler only went this far in the branch in his commentary, stating that this strong intermediate move is present. It appears that Black can equalize, but he must find a long series of tactical ideas to prove it:} (22. Rxb7 Nf3+) 22... Rxe2 $1 23. Qxe2 Bb5 $1 24. Rxb5 Nf3+ $1 25. gxf3 $1 Bxd4+ 26. Kh1 axb5 27. Qxb5 Rb8 28. Qd7 Bxb2 29. Rb1 Bd4 30. Rxb7 Rxb7 31. Qxb7 Qe8 $1 32. Qc8 $1 (32. a6 $2 Qa4 $19) 32... Kf8 $8 33. Qxe8+ Kxe8 34. a6 Kd7 $11 {Even here Black's task is the scarier one, but he holds.}) 22. Bc4 (22. c3 $4 Bxd5 23. exd5 Nd3 $19) (22. Qd1 Bxd5 23. exd5 Rc7 {followed by ...Rce7 and ....f5 gives Black a healthy position.}) (22. Nf6+ Bxf6 23. Rxf6 Bxe4 {leaves White with some compensation, but possibly not enough.}) (22. Bxe5 Rxe5 23. Bc4 {looks ambitious, but neither Svidler nor the engine are entirely sure about the long-term health of White's center.}) 22... Nxc4 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Rxc4 Bxd5 25. Qc3+ Kg8 26. exd5 $11) 21. Nf4 Qe7 22. Nd5 Qe6 23. Nf4 Qe7 24. Nd5 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2021.08.21"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2655"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.08.21"] [EventCountry "USA"] {[%evp 0,26,25,25,8,33,19,15,24,-1,-1,3,7,-12,92,21,21,21,23,62,53,56,53,1,39, 56,51,38,45]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Bg4 9. Nbd2 Nb6 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bb3 Kh8 12. Ne4 Nd7 13. Bd5 Bb6 14. Ng3 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 f5 16. d4 f4 {Swiercz still had all his time (and then some - 93 minutes at this point), while MVL has been thinking every move since 11...Kh8.} 17. Ne4 {Down to 52 minutes.} Qh4 $146 {Played instantly.} (17... exd4 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Bxf4 dxc3 20. bxc3 Ne5 21. Qg3 Nd3 22. Rad1 Nxe1 23. Rxd8 Raxd8 24. Be5 Rd7 25. Kh2 Nd3 26. Bxg7+ Rxg7 27. Qxd3 c5 28. c4 c6 29. g3 Bc7 30. h4 Be5 31. f4 Bd4 32. Ng5 Re7 33. Qf3 h6 34. Qh5 Kg7 35. Nf3 Rf6 36. Kh3 Rg6 37. f5 Rf6 38. g4 Re3 39. g5 hxg5 40. hxg5 Rxf5 41. Qh6+ Kf7 42. Qh7+ Ke6 43. Qg6+ Rf6 44. gxf6 Rxf3+ 45. Kg4 Rf2 46. Qh7 Rg2+ 47. Kh3 Rxa2 48. Qe7+ Kf5 49. f7 Ra3+ 50. Kg2 Ra2+ 51. Kf1 Bg7 52. f8=Q+ Bxf8 53. Qxf8+ Ke4 54. Qxc5 Ra6 55. Qd6 Kf3 56. Qd3+ Kf4 57. Qd4+ Kf3 58. c5 Ra3 59. Qf6+ {1-0 (59) Nepomniachtchi,I (2784)-Aronian,L (2781) chess24.com INT 2020}) 18. Nd2 $1 { Played after another nine minutes' thought. This move finally took Swiercz out of his preparation, and while Swiercz enjoyed an advantage of almost 50 minutes on the clock, MVL started taking over the psychological and the on-the-board initiative. White has figured out how to neutralize Black's kingside play, will achieve play of his own on the queenside, and is fully concentrated for the task at hand. For Black, his mental motor is like a car engine in sub-zero temperatures: he has to spend some time warming it up.} exd4 19. Nc4 $1 {The point of White's previous move. Black will not be allowed to play ...Ne5 (not safely, that is), which would displace White's queen and allow all sorts of mayhem with ...f3.} Rad8 {After half an hour's thought, an inaccuracy.} (19... dxc3 $1 {was best, when White has a choice between taking on b6 and then grabbing c3 with the queen, or maintaining the tension with 20. bxc3.}) 20. Bxc6 (20. Bd2 {was also possible, but MVL's choice makes very good sense, restricting Black's options.}) 20... bxc6 21. Bd2 $1 Nf6 $6 {Another inaccuracy, after 12 minutes.} (21... dxc3 $1 {seems crazy, developing White's bishop on a fantastic diagonal, but after} 22. Bxc3 Qg3 $1 {the inevitable exchange of queens should allow Black to survive.}) 22. Nxb6 cxb6 $6 (22... axb6 $142 {Here the engine finds a remarkable idea that had the commentators, and later MVL himself, laughing.} 23. cxd4 c5 {and now, THE move.} 24. a4 $3 { Here's the point:} cxd4 (24... Rxd4 $2 25. Bc3 $18 {is obviously good for White--winning, in fact.}) (24... Qh5 $142 25. Qxh5 Nxh5 26. Re7 f3 27. Rxc7 fxg2 28. a5 bxa5 29. Rxa5 h6 30. Raxc5 Nf4 31. Bxf4 Rxf4 32. d5 $14) 25. Rac1 c5 26. a5 $16 {Black's structure disintegrates. This is very nice, and the sort of idea I could easily see showing up in a Dvoretsky book, were the great trainer still alive.}) 23. cxd4 $16 c5 24. Re7 (24. Rad1) 24... Rxd4 {16 minutes for this one.} 25. Bc3 Nd5 $1 26. Rxa7 (26. Rxg7 {is also playable.} Nxc3 27. bxc3 Kxg7 28. cxd4 Qf6 $1 29. Re1 Qxd4 $16) 26... Nxc3 27. bxc3 Rdd8 ( 27... Rd6 $142) 28. Re1 c4 $2 {Played relatively quickly - time was starting to run short - but now he's clearly lost.} (28... h6) (28... Qg5) 29. Re4 $18 b5 (29... Rd3 $2 {would be desirable, were it not for} 30. Qxf4 $1 {, taking advantage of Black's weak back rank.}) 30. a4 {Played instantly, and now it was time for Swiercz to sink into the tank one last time, for 14 minutes.} Rd3 31. Qxf4 Qxf4 32. Rxf4 Rg8 33. axb5 Rxc3 34. Rc7 Rb3 {If Black could swap off the queenside pawns the resulting ending would be drawn. Unfortunately for him, he will not get White's b-pawn at so low a cost.} 35. Rc5 c3 36. Rfc4 h6 37. Rxc3 Rb1+ 38. Kh2 Kh7 39. Rg3 Rb2 40. f4 g6 $6 {The time control has been made, and Black's position is hopeless. All that remains is to see how White will administer the coup de grace.} 41. f5 $1 g5 42. Rd3 Re8 43. Rd7+ Kg8 44. Rc6 Rxb5 45. Rg6+ Kf8 46. Rxh6 Kg8 47. f6 {There is no defense to the threat of Rg7+ followed by Rh8#.} 1-0 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2021.08.21"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2021.08.21"] [EventCountry "USA"] {[%evp 0,23,25,15,29,0,27,33,33,36,43,47,47,52,41,17,17,0,37,20,40,19,15,-2, -12,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 a6 6. O-O c5 7. Re1 Nc6 8. Bd3 cxd4 9. exd4 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Ne5 {Almost a novelty. It's a very nice idea - certainly this is what White wants to do, but what about the d-pawn? Who cares!} Nxd4 12. Bf4 $146 ({Here's the one previous game:} 12. Bg5 Nc6 13. Qf3 Qc7 14. Bf4 Bd6 15. Qg3 Nh5 16. Qh4 g6 17. Nxc6 Nxf4 18. Ne4 f5 19. Nxd6 Qxd6 20. Ne7+ Kg7 21. Bxf5 exf5 22. Rad1 Qb4 23. g3 Nd3 24. Nxf5+ Bxf5 25. Re7+ Rf7 26. Rxf7+ Kxf7 27. Qxh7+ Kf6 28. h4 Re8 29. Kh2 Nxf2 30. Rf1 Ng4+ 31. Kg1 Qc5+ 32. Kh1 Qd5+ 33. Kg1 Qd4+ 34. Kh1 Qe4+ 35. Kg1 Qe3+ 36. Kg2 Qe2+ 37. Kg1 Qh2# {0-1 (38) Riehle,M (2347)-Bluebaum,M (2670) Chess.com INT 2021}) 12... Nf5 13. Qc2 (13. Rc1) 13... Nd4 14. Qd1 Nf5 {Draw?} 15. Qf3 {Nope.} (15. Rc1) ( 15. Qc2 Nd4 $11) 15... Nh4 16. Qh3 Nd5 17. Bg3 Ng6 18. Rad1 Bf6 19. Bb1 Qb6 20. Qh5 Nxc3 (20... Qxb2 $5 21. Nxd5 exd5 22. Nxf7 $3 Rxf7 (22... Kxf7 $4 23. Qxd5+ Be6 24. Qxe6#) 23. Re8+ Rf8 (23... Nf8 $4 24. Qxh7#) 24. Bxg6 hxg6 25. Rxf8+ ( 25. Qxd5+ $6 Be6 26. Qxe6+ Kh7 $11) 25... Kxf8 26. Qh8+ Kf7 27. Re1 Bd7 28. Qxa8 Qb4 29. Rf1 Bc6 {is at most a touch better for White, but it's a three-results position.}) 21. bxc3 Bxe5 22. Bxe5 Rd8 23. h4 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Bd7 $1 {Black has at last solved his queenside development problems, and now White liquidates to a drawn ending. The board gets hoovered up and a repetition finishes the job.} 25. Bxg7 $1 Kxg7 26. Bxg6 hxg6 27. Qe5+ Kg8 28. Rxd7 Rd8 29. Re7 Qb1+ 30. Kh2 Qf5 31. Qxf5 exf5 32. Rxb7 Rd2 33. f3 Rxa2 34. Ra7 Rc2 35. Rxa6 Rxc3 36. Ra8+ Kg7 37. Ra6 Kg8 38. Ra8+ Kg7 39. Ra6 Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2021.08.21"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2806"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2021.08.21"] [EventCountry "USA"] {[%evp 0,18,25,16,20,-9,10,11,36,28,12,-7,-6,-3,4,17,26,12,3,-6,30]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Nf6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 e5 7. Nb3 (7. Nf3) 7... a5 { Surprisingly rare.} (7... Be6) (7... Nc6) 8. Bg5 a4 9. Nc1 Be6 10. e4 $146 (10. Nc3 d4 11. Ne4 Be7 12. Nxf6+ gxf6 13. Bh6 Nc6 14. Nd3 Bd5 15. Bh3 Bf8 16. Bxf8 Kxf8 17. c4 Bxc4 18. Nc5 Bb5 19. Qc2 Qe7 20. Nd7+ Kg7 21. Qe4 h5 22. Nb6 Rad8 23. Rac1 Qb4 24. Nd5 Rxd5 25. Qxd5 Bxe2 26. a3 Qb3 27. Qxb3 axb3 28. f4 d3 29. Kf2 Rd8 30. fxe5 Nxe5 31. Ke3 b5 32. Kd2 Bxf1 33. Rxf1 Nc4+ 34. Kc3 Ne3 { 0-1 (34) Hacche,D (2182)-Johansen,D (2475) Parramatta 2008}) (10. c4 dxc4 11. Bxb7 Qxd1 12. Rxd1 Ra7 13. Bg2 Bc5 14. Nc3 O-O 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. e3 a3 17. bxa3 Rxa3 18. N1e2 Na6 19. Nb5 Ra5 20. Nec3 Nb4 21. a4 f5 22. Nd6 Ra6 23. Nb7 Be7 24. Nd5 Nxd5 25. Bxd5 Rb8 26. Bxe6 fxe6 27. Rd7 Kf8 28. a5 Rc8 29. Rd2 Rc7 30. Rb1 c3 31. Rc2 Ra7 32. a6 Rxa6 33. Rb5 Ra1+ 34. Kg2 e4 35. Na5 Rd1 36. Nb3 Kf7 37. Nd4 Rd2 38. Rb3 Rxc2 39. Nxc2 Bf6 40. Kf1 Rd7 41. Ke1 Rd2 42. Nd4 Rd3 43. Rb7+ Be7 44. Rc7 Kf6 45. Kf1 Bd6 46. Rc4 Be5 47. Nc6 Bd6 48. Nd4 Ke5 49. Nb5 Bb4 50. Kg2 Kd5 51. Rxb4 c2 52. Nc7+ Kc5 53. Na6+ Kd5 54. Nc7+ Kc5 55. Na6+ Kd5 {1/2-1/2 (55) Bobarykin,D (2248)-Khantuev,A (2351) Irkutsk 2010}) 10... d4 11. f4 $2 (11. c3 $142) 11... Be7 12. Nd3 Nc6 (12... Ng4 $142 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Qe2 Ne3 15. Rf2 Bc4 16. Nd2 Ba6 $17) 13. Bf3 Nd7 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Nd2 (15. Na3 $5) 15... b5 16. b3 f6 (16... Nc5 $142) 17. Bh5+ $1 g6 18. f5 Bf7 19. fxg6 hxg6 20. Bg4 Be6 (20... Ra7 $5) 21. Bxe6 Qxe6 $15 22. Nf3 g5 $2 $11 {This prevents the knight jump to h4, but now f6 is a permanent target while the f5 square is begging to be occupied by White's pieces.} (22... Rc8 $15) (22... Ne7 $1 $15 { /-/+}) 23. Qe2 Nd8 $2 {Swinging the knight to d6 (or maybe g5 after ...g4) is appealing for Black, but what about White and his ideas?} 24. Nb4 {Thanks to Black's last move, White's knight reaches the glorious d5 square. (And note that it's bearing down on f6 - Black's mistakes enhance each other.)} Rb8 $2 ( 24... Nf7 $142 25. Nd5 Rc8) 25. Nd5 O-O $6 (25... Rb7 $142) (25... Rc8 $142) 26. h4 $18 Nf7 27. hxg5 $2 (27. Rf2 $1 {first was even stronger. By delaying the capture, White is given time to double rooks before Black can challenge along the file. The only potential drawback is that Black can play} g4 $2 { , but White has a nice tactical shot against this:} 28. Nxd4 $3 exd4 29. Nf4 { and Black's kingside will collapse. For example:} Qd6 30. Qxg4+ Kh7 (30... Kh8 $2 31. Ne6 Rg8 32. Qh5+ Nh6 33. Qxh6#) 31. Qg6+ Kh8 32. Nh5 Rg8 33. Qxf7 $18 { White is up two pawns, with more to come.}) 27... fxg5 28. Rf2 Nb6 $2 (28... g4 $1 {looks awful, of course, inviting White's pieces into f5, but there's a bit of counterplay coming with ...Ng5.} 29. Nh4 Ng5 30. Rf5 $1 Rxf5 31. Nxf5 Nf3+ 32. Kg2 Nf6 {and it turns out that it's only Black's queenside weakness that gives White any advantage at all.} 33. Nxf6+ Qxf6 34. bxa4 Rc8 $1 35. axb5 Rc3 {Now White's only move to keep an advantage is} 36. Rf1 $1 {, and it's still not winning after} Kf8 $1 37. a4 Qb6 38. Nh4 Re3 39. Qc4 Rc3 40. Qb4+ Ke8 41. Rf2 Qh6 42. Qe7+ $1 Kxe7 43. Nf5+ Kd7 44. Nxh6 Ng5 45. Re2 Ra3 46. Nxg4 Kd6 $14 {Long variation, wrong variation; no doubt alert and dedicated readers will find improvements for White. But it is clear that this approach by Black would have made things far more challenging.}) 29. Qxb5 $2 $16 (29. Nh4 $3 Nh6 $1 ( 29... gxh4 $2 {makes things easy:} 30. Rf6 Qd7 31. Rg6+ Kh8 32. Qh5+ Nh6 33. Rxh6+ Kg8 34. Rh8+ Kg7 35. Qh7#) 30. Raf1 $1 Rxf2 31. Rxf2 gxh4 32. Nf6+ $1 Kg7 33. Qh5 $1 hxg3 34. Rf3 axb3 35. cxb3 (35. axb3 {is also fine, but capturing away from the center will pay off once the dust settles on the kingside, as White may end up with two connected passers.}) 35... Qxf6 36. Rxf6 Kxf6 37. Qxh6+ Kf7 38. Qh7+ Ke6 39. Qf5+ Kd6 40. Qf6+ Kc7 41. Qxe5+ Kb7 42. Qxb5 $18) 29... Nxd5 $2 (29... Nd6) (29... g4) 30. Qxd5 $2 $11 (30. exd5 $1 $18) 30... Qxd5 31. exd5 {Caruana has come all the way back from the dead! Still, his pawns are a little more vulnerable than White's, and he's still a pawn down, though the d5 pawn is likely to be a goner sooner or later. The game should be drawn, but the burden is still on Black to prove it.} axb3 (31... Rb5 $1 $11) 32. axb3 d3 33. cxd3 Rxb3 {Now Xiong played the winning move.} 34. Ra6 $1 { Is White winning? No, it's still "0.00". But Black has to figure things out, and Caruana was unable to find the right move. The threat is to check on g6 and then play Rf6 and gang up on the knight, not incidentally adding force against Black's remaining pawns. Caruana thought for almost all of his remaining time here, but it wasn't good enough.} Rd8 $2 (34... Rxd3 $1 35. Rg6+ Kh7 36. Rf6 e4 $1 37. Ne5 (37. Nxg5+ Nxg5 38. Rxf8 Nh3+ $11) (37. Rxf7+ Rxf7 38. Nxg5+ Kg7 39. Nxf7 (39. Rxf7+ Kg6 $11) 39... e3 40. Re2 Kxf7 $11) 37... Nxe5 38. Rxf8 Rxg3+ {, followed by ...Rd3, maintains equality.}) (34... Nh8 $2 {saves the knight, but after} 35. Nxe5 {White's doubled d-pawns, combined with Black's sidelined knight, should suffice for Xiong to win.}) (34... Rfb8 { is the only move, other than 34...Rxd3, that isn't a clear win for White. White is better here, but maybe not enough to win.} 35. Rg6+ (35. Nd2 {is also good, and here we see one of the ideas behind Black's last move:} R8b6 $1) 35... Kh7 36. Re6 R8b7 $1 37. d6 R3b6 38. Nd2 Nxd6 39. Rff6 Nc8 40. Nc4 Rxe6 41. Rxe6 {White wins a pawn, but it shouldn't be enough to win the game.}) 35. Rg6+ Kh7 36. Rf6 {is winning, and after playing} Rxd3 {Caruana failed to hit the clock before losing on time.} ({After} 36... Rxd3 {the position is hopeless in any case, and doesn't require any special accuracy from White.} 37. Rxf7+ Kg8 (37... Kg6 38. Nxe5+ Kh6 39. Rh2#) 38. Rf5 $18) 1-0 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2021.08.21"] [Round "5.5"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "33"] [EventDate "2021.08.21"] [EventCountry "USA"] {[%evp 0,33,19,28,40,28,17,26,12,36,36,42,39,29,29,5,19,20,14,29,27,29,17,16, 32,7,3,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nf5 8. c3 Nxe5 9. Rxe5 d6 10. Re1 O-O 11. d4 d5 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Qf3 Nh4 14. Qe3 Nf5 15. Qf3 Nh4 16. Qg3 Nf5 17. Qf3 {Like the commentators, I assumed this was So trying to solidify his lead in the overall Grand Chess Tour standings. As it turned out, it was So trying to be very safe after not getting much sleep, thanks to excessive coffee drinking the previous evening. A pity for the fans and sponsors, and to his credit So was apologetic about it in the postgame interview. It worked out though: he remained in a tie for first place in the tournament by the end of the round, and thus still looking good for overall GCT victory.} 1/2-1/2